Thank you all for a REALLY informative discussion.
Two points/questions:
Does applying to NEU RD, as opposed to EA or ED, affect the likelihood and amount of merit aid?
Like @AmyIzzy, we received the NEU Preview Day invite. DD and folks will likely attend virtually. Is this really an exclusive event? Not that it matters, but I am intrigued at marketing efforts by colleges! NEU used the word “select”, and I am curious how “select” this really is.
I didn’t realize there was a virtual option. I think we will stick with in-person, but good to know if our plans change. I agree that schools like Northeastern are masters of marketing, so it’s hard not to be cynical. It does cover many areas my son would like to learn more about, so seems to have some value. Just not sure how many are invited and the methods they use to target students. My son is a National Hispanic Merit Scholar (as per PSAT) so I’m assuming that was part of the selection, along with him already showing interest with an info session and tour last year. But really not sure. I did learn that students who attended Preview Day in 2016 were offered a $150 travel voucher and $200 in 2018. The past few years were virtual and there is no mention of a voucher in his email, so maybe that has changed.
As for merit amounts for EA vs. RD, I’m really not sure. Many schools advertise “priority scholarships” if you apply by November 1st or November 15th, so I would encourage students to aim for EA if possible. I believe Northeastern is known to defer many EA candidates to RD or encourage them to switch to ED2.
Jumping on to the earlier discussion, my son is debating whether to submit his 1450 SAT score (700 Reading, 750 Math) or go test optional. He thinks not submitting would lead them to assume his scores are much lower than 1450. I’m sure they are really trying to push up their stats, but pretty soon only those with 1550 or higher will be submitting (as their averages increase) which is crazy. Test optional is a positive in many ways, but it a good way for schools who are trying to increase rank to manipulate the data.
Given the TO option, I would not submit scores unless they are above the 50% range or even higher, closer to the 75% range. NU is very competitive these days.
Given the popularity of NU these days, I doubt they’d be offering anyone vouchers to attend any sessions, esp with the virtual options now that were not commonplace or even available even a few years ago. I would say that NU like all major universities are good at marketing. I was amazed at certain smaller schools that seemed to have huge marketing budgets and tactics… they need to fill three seats to stay a float.
I’m sure the preview day is fully marketed to anyone with high PSAT scores and who has shown any interest to date, so not too select but still somewhat selective. Congrats to your child on their Hispanic Scholar award. NU does offer some merit aid to such scholars but less so than years before. Show a lot of interest if NU is truly an interest… they are good at knowing who is trying to use NU as a safety school (which it really no longer be for anyone) and who is interested.
Regarding EA v RD scholarships… NU offers merit aid to all groups of admission, but given their popularity these days, it is better to apply EA if possible as it shows interest, has no commitment and you might get in early. As mentioned though, they do tend to defer a lot of people to RD round, likely to weed out anyone who might be trying to use NU as a safety school and to see if they withdraw from the process bc they got in ED or ED2 elsewhere. They had a huge yield (thus overenrollment) for Fall 2021, so they will still likely be very protective of yield bc they are dealing with overcrowding for housing etc.
Whoops! Thanks to you, I now realize this is an IN PERSON event! There was a reference to mailing a link to our D, so I assumed that it was virtual. I don’t think it is. And I don’t think we will go again.
We did visit in person over the summer, so maybe that’s what the “select” means.
On the TO issue, it really puts students in a bind. 1450 is obviously an excellent score, but if a school is trying to bump up its averages, you have to be careful. I would much prefer that it’s required (e.g., now MIT) or not at all (U of Cal schools).
Best of luck!
My daughter also received the NU Preview invite, but didn’t really pay it much attention. We just visited NEU this summer, so she is not going to go back. She did have high PSAT scores (will be on the commended list). So, if the invites are indeed “exclusive” then perhaps they’re based on PSAT score combined with some sort of additional demonstrated interest, like a visit?
She’s going to apply EA. She has a 33 ACT score, and has also been debating about submitting it. I’m also inclined to recommend she submit it even though it’s one point below their median. (She took the ACT one more time yesterday, as if she could raise any subsection’s score by one point, she’ll have a composite superscore of 34, so it seemed worth one more try.) But, if she doesn’t improve her score, I still think she should submit.
Can I just say how sad it is we need to debate the submission of a 33 ACT?? Is that where we are now? That’s a truly amazing score and I think it’s a shame that some colleges want to push up their scores to the point of making a successful student with strong scores question their value or if it’s “good enough.” Whether they submit or not, I hope our kids realize they should be proud of every aspect of their portfolio that helps them shine. Congrats to your daughter!
I agree… it’s a wonderful achievement. But I don’t think this is just NU trying to raise their scores or ranking. I just think there is a big shift (for all top ranked schools) towards TO and I actually think that’s probably a good thing (but a lot of work for AOs.) it’s just that a score like 33 is in the middle range for NU and other schools now and they’ll just be looking at other things. Actually, having the really high scores Almost seems to make them think that one is using them as a safety school or they’ll defer you waiting to see if you’re going to an Ivy or other school… not sending a score makes them look more holistically at a student, but I just don’t know how they truly do that with 90,000 apps. That is more of the issue for me. It’s such a guessing game right now it seems… so challenging.
that’s an interesting idea. I wonder whether there is a significant difference in score range between ED admits, EA admits, and RD admits.
Congrats also to your son! Hope the preview weekend is great! My daughter did really like Northeastern - it’s just too much time/money for us to head back to see it again. I hope it’s not viewed as a negative for when she applies (ie, showing a lack of interest by not attending.)
Yes NEU definitely does defer/waitlist very high stat unhooked students (except in ED1/2) because they’re extremely yield conscious and think these applicants will get accepted and go elsewhere. Have observed this personally with a dozen+ applicants over the past two cycles.
I’m sure it’s more about marketing and getting the students excited about applying. Our first visit was very positive for my son (just the vibe he wanted) so I’m sure this visit will increase his desire to attend NU, which is their goal. Not sure how they do it but they definitely have a great formula for selling their school. Even my frugal husband walked away trying to rationalize the price tag or figuring out how we could make it work if my son gets in. It’s too bad they don’t have a virtual option for this preview event. Either way, I don’t think attendance will make or break an acceptance. The goal is probably to get certain kids to apply and attend depending on their goal (increasing diversity, targeting more NMF students, etc.) NU is definitely a top school for my son but he also has many other great schools on his list (he told me each had something unique and appealing about it-including the more affordable SUNY options-and he could see himself happy at any of them) and he understands our budget limits and that it’s important to keep undergrad costs low (he plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psych as his long-term goal.) Don’t fret about not going, she is probably flagged as a great potential applicant and that won’t change. It’s kind of a miracle we can attend as our weekends are often filled with gymnastics-related events or other commitments, plus we can drive there which makes it affordable. Good luck to your daughter! I’ll try to come back here after October 8th to report on how the visit went.
There have been many comments on past decision threads here on CC to the effect of “My daughter was accepted at Princeton, Penn and Duke and will be attending Princeton. Why did Northeastern deny her?”
I wish Northeastern had a supplemental essay as simple as “Why Northeastern?” But the current set up seems to be working so I guess they do not want to rock the boat.
I think I read here that an applicant contacted northeastern to ask if they could submit an essay like that, and were told yes (my nephew is EDing NU with a 35/1540 but 3.6 gpa and I’m wondering if an essay would help).
Same here…I really didn’t know much about NEU but we were impressed with the campus and the tour. The co-op program was something I was initially skeptical about, but DD really liked it.
Just one further question about this program in October: is NEU a “demonstrated interest” school? I recall that there was some list floating around, and I think it is a specific question in CDSs. I have no way of vouching for the creds of these lists, but a quick search turned these up:
That being said, I am personally dubious if a school says it is not a DI school. I am sure for all schools, they have sophisticated back-end tracking of who clicks on what, how long they stay etc. I am not saying that’s a bad thing; rather, I am saying that this is what all businesses do today.
I suppose what a school does with the information is the difference in being a DI school or not.
I hope this is not off-topic, as my question specifically related to NEU. Feel free to edit if OT.
ETA: NEU is apparently a school that “considers” DI.
Case Western has been known for these tactics too. Students with 1550+ scores were waitlisted or rejected while students with lower stats were accepted. They just assume those high stats kids will choose an Ivy I guess? My friend’s daughter was one of those upper stats students who was waitlisted at Case Western in 2021, which truly was her #1 pick. They called her several times in April to be sure she wanted to stay on the waitlist and she couldn’t have been more clear about intending to register if removed from the waitlist (major demonstrated interest shown.) But she never did come off the waitlist. So I’m not sure if they didn’t believe her or they just had so many students apply and she wasn’t the demographic they were aiming for (white female) for the Class of 2025. She was heartbroken but ended up at a great college and is doing well.
My son visited Emory and when we booked out tour by phone and were on hold, the recording stated they do not track demonstrated interest which I was surprised they felt was important enough to put on the “messages while you wait” recording. Maybe they get a ton of questions about it. But I have heard that Northeastern is big on tracking interest so if students can’t travel there in person, it’s good to sign up for a few virtual sessions or email your admissions counselor periodically with questions. And definitely open each email.
What do you think is the sweet spot for scores at these yield conscious institutions? Around 1500 maybe? Just curious what you were seeing.
Just in reading posts on College Confidential and some other college social media posts, seemed to impact those with 1525 or higher. This is not scientific or conclusive at all, just from my subjective observations.